Pages

Friday, May 30, 2014

Chinese Puzzle (opens in Cleveland on May 30th exclusively at the Cedar Lee Theatre)

[CHINESE
PUZZLE opens in Cleveland on
May 30th exclusively at the Cedar Lee Theatre.]

Review
by Bob Ignzio

CHINESE PUZZLE
is the third in a trilogy of films written and directed by Cédric
Klapisch concerning the romantic misadventures of writer Xavier
Rousseau (Romain Duris). As the film begins, Xavier is lamenting the
fact that his life to this point has no clear goal. He's simply been
kicked along by events and gone with the flow. The latest major
upheaval in his life is divorce from his wife of 10 years Wendy
(Kelly Reilly). It's a more or less amicable split, but when Xavier
learns Wendy will be moving to New York along with their two
children, the French writer has to scramble to find a way to be near
his offspring.

New
York also happens to be where Xavier's best friend Isabelle (Cécile
De France) lives with her girlfriend Ju (Sandrine Holt). The couple
have recently become parents thanks to a sperm donation from Xavier,
so they're willing to lend a helping hand until Xavier gets his house
in order in America. Not only does that entail finding a place to
stay and a job, but coming up with a way to become a U.S. citizen,
too. To that end, he reaches an agreement with Nancy (Li Jun Li) to
marry her and get his green card. Finally, Xavier's ex Martine
(Audrey Tatou) is also in New York on business, and seems intent on
rekindling the spark the two once had. That's plenty of characters
and situations for one movie right there, but CHINESE
PUZZLE requires even more
pieces to complete. By all rights the film should feel cluttered and
unwieldy, but somehow it never does.

Despite
some clever writing and imaginative flights of fancy – personal
favorites are the fantasy sequences involving German philosophers –
CHINESE PUZZLE
doesn't completely avoid rom-com cliché, including that old
warhorse, the race to the airport/bus station/whatever to stop the
right woman from getting away. But despite a plot every bit as
convoluted and far-fetched as any American rom-com, CHINESE
PUZZLE has little moments of
truth and clever humor (as well as some enjoyable Felliniesque flights of fantasy) to rise above cliché just enough to be
a satisfying, if lightweight, entertainment. 3 out of 4 stars.